Jarome Iginla and the Calgary Flames made a long-awaited reunion this offseason when the team appointed Jarome as special advisor to the general manager. Jarome’s return to the NHL comes at a time when he and his wife Kara’s three kids’ hockey careers are ramping up. Notably, Jarome’s oldest son, Tij, is draft-eligible this season and has been turning scouts’ heads.
This marks the third edition of the Iginla Update. After a full month and a half of play since the Christmas break, the Iginla trio has stayed hot heading into March.
Jade Iginla
The eldest Iginla finished out her ECAC regular season on February 17 with a loss against Cornell. Aside from dropping the last two games, Brown was able to make a push and gain home-ice advantage in the ECAC tournament. Brown will host a tournament game for the first time since 2006 on Saturday against RPI.
Brown is 1–1 against RPI: a 3–2 win in November at home and a 2–0 loss on the road on February 3.
Jade had a big finish to the regular season. She recorded her second career hat trick against Harvard. Scoring a goal each period, she capped off her third on February 9 with this beautiful long wrist shot:
Iginla had 11 points in her last 10 games to finish the regular season with 16 goals and 10 assists with a 17.6% shooting.
After being named the Ivy League and ECAC rookie of the year in 2022–23, Jade followed up her second season with very comparable numbers. She scored 17 goals and 23 points in 29 games as a freshman, and 16 goals and 26 points in 29 games as a sophomore. Jade finished ninth in the ECAC in goals scored and will look to help Brown claim an ECAC championship and NCAA tournament-birth.
Tij Iginla
The 2024 WHL season is on the home stretch, and Tij Iginla isn’t slowing down. The first-round prospect now has 38 goals in 52 games, putting him seventh in WHL scoring.
Iginla showed off his speed and hands with this game winner on Monday night in the dying seconds:
“Iggy, Wiggy, Woo, Woo” as the Kelowna Rockets announcer put it.
At only 17, Tij leads all U18 WHL players in scoring and has an impressive 1.27 points per game.
Tij was showcased in the CHL Top Prospects game on January 24 in Moncton, NB, and earned the White Team Player of the Game award in a loss. Tij discussed the opportunity and how it felt to play alongside his old teammate and fellow top prospect Berkly Catton:
Tij is on pace for 47 goals and 81 points and with 12 games remaining on the schedule. The Rockets sit seventh in the Western Conference, just ahead of the playoff-mark at eighth overall. With only nine points separating the Rockets and the fourth-place Victoria Royals, the Rockets could improve their standing or slip out of the playoffs altogether. Catton’s Spokane Chiefs trail the Rockets by only two points and have two games in hand, while the ninth-place Tri-City Americans trail the Rockets by seven points with a game in hand.
Tij has slowed his climb up draft boards, ranked #11 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
It will be a hard finish for Tij and the Rockets as the Flames head into the trade deadline. Hopefully, the young forward gets a chance at the WHL playoffs this year and a stab at the Memorial Cup.
Joe Iginla
Joe isn’t waiting to inherit his brother’s spotlight until next season. The 15-year-old has played in 25 CSSHL U18 games this season, amassing 16 goals and 23 points as an underage player. Not to mention, he made a stop at the Circle K Classic where he tallied three points in five games and showed flashes of his father’s smile and charm during interviews.
Back in our first edition, Joe had just made his WHL debut and scored a beautiful goal in his second game before returning to minor hockey.
On February 17, Joe played in his third career WHL game against the Red Deer Rebels, recording an assist.
Monday, his fourth WHL game, Joe recorded his first multi-goal game with these two great shots. I can’t believe the angle and release of the first one, wow…
Joe is quickly turning heads and making his brother’s top-15 draft projection look like it could be a low-end assessment of the youngest Iginla who’s draft-eligible in 2026.
Joe played his fifth WHL game against the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday and was held off the scoresheet for only the second time in his young career.
Joe can still play in two more games for the Edmonton Oil Kings in his underage season. With five points in his first five games, Joe will undoubtedly shake up the WHL next season.
A new era of Iginla
Playoffs are approaching fast for the Iginlas, as Jade begins her playoff run this Saturday. Tij will look to close out the last dozen games of the Rockets’ regular season by clinching a playoff birth and chasing 50 goals. Meanwhile, Joe continues to light up the WHL in his underage career and will look back towards his U18 club after his WHL stint finishes.
Stay tuned each month for an update on Jade, Tij, and Joe across their respective seasons with highlights, draft rankings, and accolades.
